An Extremely Awkward Problem
by Lynlyn-maru
Summary: Ino tries out a forbidden technique on Shikamaru...and they find themselves in a very awkward perdicament! How long are they going to be stuck? InoShika
1. Chapter 1

Hello there! So here's the scoop...I wrote this new story and I'm extremely worried how it will go over. If you read the summary, you know that Ino and Shikamaru experience TROUBLE after Ino tries out a new technique...I'm worried that you, as readers will be able to follow the events as my screwy head thinks them up.

Then again, my friend Hikari read it and said she understood, so maybe I'm just being paranoid! I realy need reviews on how you understood the events so I'll know how to continue!

Disclaimer- If Iowned Naruto, Shikamaru would be the main character...so obviously I don't.

* * *

Shikamaru groaned at the sunlight disturbing his sleep, turning to glance at the clock on his bedside table. 8:32 am. He was expected at Ino's at 9:00.  
He rolled over, thinking he may enjoy a few more minutes of sleep before getting ready to go, but thought against it as he remembered the last time he was late to pick up Ino. He shuddered at the memory; (earaches for three days) and hoisted himself out of bed and into a hot shower. 

After drying himself, changing into his clothes and pulling his wet hair into his signature sloppy ponytail, he locked his door behind him and proceeded down the street in the direction of Ino's house.

Ino was one of the few members of the original nine that still lived at home with her parents, only her, Hinata and Neji remained at their own houses still. Shikamaru and Chouji originally lived together, but moved separately after Chouji became involved with a stunning new girl from the country of sand, an old classmate of Temari's actually. Shino, Kiba and Akamaru were still sharing a flat and Sakura had moved out a long while ago, living rather closely to Naruto. Neji still spent most of his time at the main Hyuuga house, but it was rumored that he and Tenten were saving up to move in together, as soon as Hinata gained the head title. Lee and Sakura had become good friends and frequently accepted missions together, he was rarely not on a mission, actually, accepting every one he could. Naruto was also a scarce sight around the village, for when he wasn't out training or on a mission, he was scouring the country, searching for signs of Uchiha Sasuke, who was still At large, even after the defeat of Orochimaru. Shikamaru had been promoted to the head of the new strategist ward and frequently got to see his old teammates, either by working alongside with the Spy ward (Ino) or Village Defense units (Chouji). Team Ino-Shika-Chou still trained together whenever possible, but their time was beginning to grow short, as more and more dangerous missions were beginning to surface. Today was going to be the first time Shikamaru and Ino were getting to train in over a month! Ino was lucky, no missions for at least four days, Shikamaru was on-call, hoping to get a few days off as well.

Shikamaru strolled casually down the street, not paying any particular attention to the time, until he reached Ino's house. He knocked lightly before opening the door and strolling into the entryway.

"Ino?" He called, closing the door behind him and kicking off his shoes.

"In here!" She replied from the kitchen.  
He met her, cutting strawberries over the sink, a concentrated smile on her face.  
"I made pancakes, you probably didn't eat, did you? Want some?"  
"I know you always feed me for my trouble, so I don't bother to eat before coming over here." He replied, sitting down at the table across the room. Ino twirled the knife expertly in one hand, as she flipped the bowl around under the running water, rinsing the fruit.  
"I figured." She said, grabbing two plates and filling them with cakes and scooping some of the freshly-cut berries on top. She dropped the plates onto the table and returned to the kitchen, rummaging around before returning with forks, syrup and two glasses of water.  
Shikamaru ate in silence while Ino gabbed along about this and that until they were both finished, Ino only eating half her plate.  
She cleaned up while Shikamaru lie on the couch, his stomach settling before their training.  
"So what did you want to work on today, Taijitsu again?" He asked, stretching out lazily.  
"Actually, I wanted to try out a new technique I found in one of my family technique manuals the other day. It's a major step-up from the mind transfer." She replied, drying her hands.

"I knew you were going to ask something like that after pancakes, you were trying to appease me, how troublesome." He mumbled.

"Oh hush, lets go." Ino said, slipping on her shoes in the entry way and starting out the door. Shikamaru followed and they headed out towards their old training grounds.

They got there surprisingly quick, without Ino stopping to talk to people and took position on either side of the grounds after a few quick stretches.

"So, what exactly are you going to be sending out at me?" He asked, crossing his arms across his chest lazily.  
"It's a mind SWITCH technique. Instead of entering your body and leaving mine unattended, we're going to switch bodies temporarily. It's an older technique that my family doesn't practice anymore, I just want to see if I can do it, then we can work on something else, if you want."  
" I don't exactly like the thought of this, I'm not used to being in another persons body, it's not really my thing."  
"Oh quit complaining, it's not that bad, just don't do anything stupid and everything will be fine. Honestly, I'm in other peoples' bodies all the time, it's not that big of a deal."  
She began to practice forming the seals while Shikamaru prepared himself to be hit with the 'blast', he had played dummy for quite a few of Ino's techniques and, despite how they look, they aren't gentle when they hit you.

"Alrighty, then, here we go, you ready?" She called. Shikamaru nodded and she formed the seals.  
"Mind-Body Switch Technique!"  
Both bodies stiffened and slumped to their knees simultaneously, neither moving for a minute.

Ino opened her eyes first, seeing her own body in the field across from her. She looked down and saw that she had succeeded and was now in Shika's body. She steadily rose, used to the effects of mind-transfer and walked over to her own body, shaking it gently. "Shikamaru? Are you in there? Did it work?"  
Her bodies' eyes fluttered open, almost in a daze.  
"Shika?"

Shikamaru felt weird, he was…lighter than usual. Everything felt different. Still, he refrained from opening his eyes, slightly afraid of what he might see.  
"Shikamaru? Are you in there? Did it work?" He heard his own voice say and felt a slight shake on his shoulder. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes, seeing his body before him, as if he were staring in a mirror. His eyes looked different, though. Softer.  
"Shika?"  
It was extremely disturbing to hear his own voice like that…  
"Yeah?"  
"Did it work?"  
"I assume so, unless I've always been a girl and just not known it." Shikamaru grumbled in Ino's high-pitched voice.  
Ino squealed, a sound never before coming from Shikamaru, and bounded around the training ground, cheering loudly.  
Shikamaru only continued to mumble in his new, higher-pitched voice and sat on the ground, only standing when Ino pulled him up.  
Ino continued to bound about, until her wrist was grasped rather firmly and forced her to a stop. "I understand that you're excited, but I would prefer if no one saw me bouncing around like a girl." The feminine voice grunted.  
"Let's go ahead a spar now! I bet I'd finally be able to beat you!" Ino began swinging at her body, playfully. (Of course, she didn't want to hurt HERSELF!)  
"I don't know how you even fight like this, your clothes are too tight, these bandages practically cut off my circulation and these…" he pointed at her breasts. " seem like they'd get in the way all the time. I can hardly breathe with how you're tied in here." He complained, moving to loosen the wrappings.  
"Hey, just because you're in my body, doesn't mean you can ogle my chest, or touch it, for that matter." She said, trying to stay composed.  
"Whatever. Just switch us back, this is just too strange for comfort.."  
Ino sighed and moved to form the hand seals again as Shikamaru prepared for another blast.  
"Mind-body switch technique!"  
Silence.  
"Uh...I think you did the seals wrong."  
"Y-Yeah."  
She formed the seals again, more slowly this time.  
"Mind-body switch technique!"  
More silence.  
Shikamaru squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to open them again.  
"Try one more time."  
Seals. "MIND-BODY SWITCH TECHNIQUE!" Ino screamed from Shikamaru's body.

Moments passed and neither of them moved.  
"Shikamaru?"  
"What, Ino?"  
"I think we're stuck…"

Shikamaru opened his eyes again, still seeing his own body in front of him "You're kidding, right?"  
Ino buried her face in her hands, thinking she would cry.  
"This is what I get for messing around with discontinued techniques! It said this technique was dangerous and I didn't listen, it warned me not to use it." She sobbed.  
"Wait, you mean you knew it was a forbidden technique and you decided to use it anyways!" Shikamaru yelled, beginning to get angry.  
"I'm sorry!" Ino yelled back, "I wanted to have a different technique from everyone else in my family, I wanted to be better..."  
"Ino!"  
Shikamaru paced around his body, glancing into his own, timid eyes every so often, not wanting to believe that he wasn't behind them anymore.

"Alright. Lets think about this." He plopped down on the grass and pressed Ino's fingers together, forming his signature thinking position, which looked strange for Ino to be performing.  
"So, why do you think it's not working, Ino?"  
Ino knelt down in front of her body, thinking.  
"Well, either your body can't mold the chakra correctly without training…your body isn't capable of performing the technique at all…or there might just be some kind of trick in the technique itself. Like a criteria that must be met. Or, in worst case scenario, it could be a combination of those things. I'm not entirely sure…this has never happened before."  
"Well, I think we can rule out that my body isn't capable of performing chakra molding techniques, because if you knew the seals, you could perform the basic shadow jitsus right now, since my body if so used to molding the chakra, it would occur almost by instinct."  
Ino nodded, remembering that particular lecture in class.  
"I think that it's a matter of me being inside your body and it being a new technique…you don't know it enough to mold it on bodily instinct. My body can't perform mind techniques without years of practice, like you've had."  
"I think what you're trying to say it that you're going to have to be the ones to change us back, right?"  
"I'm not entirely sure yet, but that's what I'm thinking so far. Since ninja techniques are a mixture of mental and bodily molding of chakra, the only way to switch us back is for me to learn how to mentally mold chakra for your techniques. At least enough to perform that technique and switch us back."

"Well, that doesn't sound like that big of a problem then, you're the genius after all."  
Shikamaru sweat dropped.  
"It's not that simple, Ino." He stated flatly. "Molding chakra is a process that takes normal people years to master, that's why most people can only use one type of jitsu, or else everyone would be using all sorts of techniques. It's not going to happen as quickly as you may think. We'll be lucky if we're back to normal in a month, luckily, your body is trained already, it's just the process of my mental molding catching up to it."  
Ino nodded, not entirely sure if everything made complete sense. It sounded plausible enough, but there were a lot of things she still didn't understand.

"So, what you're saying is…we're going to be stuck like this for a while…" Ino sighed.  
"Hey, you think you're disappointed? Think about how I feel, I'm just an innocent victim here!"  
Ino huffed and turned her face to the side.  
"Okay, look Ino. If we're going to be stuck like this, we had better get a few things straight. You're a guy. No acting girly in my body. No crying, dancing around, saying things are cute...none of that stuff. You need to be me here." Shikamaru said, turning his body to face him.  
"And you…need to try and be me. So you need to do all of those things. You've seen how I act, it shouldn't be that hard if you put some effort into it"  
Shikamaru sighed, he hated that word.  
"How troublesome."  
"We have another problem, what about missions? I don't have any for the rest of the week, but what about you? I'm sure I won't be able to handle leadership positions of your caliber"  
"Shit. That is a problem." Shikamaru pondered for a minute, slouching into a sitting position on the ground until he snapped his finger, signaling his finish.  
"Neji and I are almost always paired together, tell him that I'm letting him practice his leadership skills for the anbu exam, but not to tell Tsunade-sama. She gets mad when I let people train on missions, but they sure appreciate it. He'll know what to do."  
Ino nodded.  
"What about your parents, how am I going to fool them that I'm you? It'll be harder than anyone else, they see you all the time?" Shikamaru asked.  
"Agreed, you cannot stay at the house, Daddy would know immediately anyways." Ino paused to think. "I know, tell them Sakura asked me to housesit for her for a while, she does all the time and my parents never get to talk to her anyways, they'll never know the difference."  
"Well, does that mean I'll have to stay at Sakuras' this whole time? That wouldn't be good either."  
"No, silly. We're both going to stay at your place, it's the only way."  
"Wait a minute…you mean…together?"  
"You know of any other option?" Ino scowled.  
Shikamaru paused to think for a moment again.  
"…no."  
Ino nodded and stood, pulling her body to it's feet.  
"Wow, either you're a lot stronger than you look, or I'm a lot lighter than I think." She said, marveling at the ease at which she hoisted up her body.  
"Probably both." Shika replied, brushing the dust from the purple fabric of her skirt. Ino blushed a little, turning and walking back towards the village.  
"Whoa whoa whoa. Hold it. There is no way I'm walking through town like that, Ino." He said, noticing the sway in her hips and how she swung her arms at her sides gracefully.  
Ino paused in her tracks and turned her neck to look at him, before looking herself down with a curious expression.  
"First of all, you need to slouch a bit, and don't swing your arms…shoved in your pockets like this.." he mimicked the action, not realizing that she had no pockets.  
"And absolutely NO swaying your hips."  
Ino took a few awkward steps and continued to pace in circles until Shikamaru was satisfied.  
"Alright, Genius, lets see you walk like me now."  
Shikamaru shrugged and straightened his posture before taking a few graceful steps, mimicking her stride almost perfectly.  
Ino stared, dumbfounded as he paced around her totally convincing.  
"Now, If I didn't know better, Shikamaru, I'd think you're watching me walk more often than I think." She said slyly.  
A blush began to form and Shikamaru quickly turned away. "No, girls just all walk the same, it's not like it's hard." He grumbled, leading the way back towards the village.  
Ino grinned and continued her walk towards the village slipping sarcastic remarks under her breath as Shikamaru walked quickly, surprised at how fast he had to walk to keep up with his body's stride, mumbling.

They took all the most remote back routes back to Ino's house, where they were relieved to find nobody home. The two went up to Ino's room, Ino beginning to rummage around, finding things to pack while Shikamaru sat on the bed.  
"I don't want to have to teach you how to put on make-up, so I'll just do it for you in the mornings, you'll need clothes enough for a few weeks and..." She glanced over at the calendar in her room, a grave expression reaching her face.  
Shikamaru tilted his head. "What? What is it?"  
"uh...nothing." She grabbed a few unrecognizable items and shoved them deep into the bag, trying to avoid his eyes.  
Shikamaru shrugged and fiddled with one of the kunai on her nightstand, twirling it in Ino's dainty fingers expertly. He watched his form bustle about with a lazy disposition, an array of thoughts spinning around in his genius brain.

_'So, if I'm attracted to Ino...and she's in my body…that's just wrong….Does my hair really stick up like that?…I don't know how she stands this make-up stuff…it feels like my eyes have paint on them!'_

Ino rummaged around the room for another few minutes, grabbing any items she thought she would need before she sat down at her desk and began to scribble a note.

_'Dear mom and daddy,_

_Sakura has asked me to stay over at her house for a while, she's going to be leaving on a mission soon and doesn't want to leave her house unattended. I will send you word if I get a mission assignment and should be back within a few weeks. I love you and will be in touch when I can!_

_Ino'_

She placed the note on her bed and hoisted her bag over her shoulder, signaling that she was ready to leave, Shikamaru stood and followed his body, tossing the kunai back onto her dresser and closing the door behind them.

* * *

Alright, let the reviews begin! I really need to know if you guys could understand all that was going on! **There WILL NOT be any updates until I know!** Also, if anyone has any suggestions for funny things that could happen to our hero and heroine, tell me and I'll be glad to torture them more! This fic can go on as long as I want it to! (Or as long as I have material!) 

Again, I strongly emphasize the importance of your reviews. If you want this to continue, tell me so!


	2. Chapter 2

Gosh, I got so many reviews, i just had to update as soon as possible! I'm so glad so many of you liked and understood it! Arigato minna-san for your wonderful comments!

Actually, I'm not very proud of this chapter, call it a...random chapter? I tried to make it funny with a few insinuations. I guess you'll just have to see!

Enjoy, and I still don't own Naruto, cause if I did, SHikamaru would've had a much bigger part in the second movie! (Wahhh!)

* * *

It had been a slow and extremely uncomfortable two days since our hero and heroine became our heroine and hero. They had barely mastered going to the bathroom, which had proved to be a challenge for the both of them…there's a first time for everything!

Ino had only left the apartment once, to return to her parent's house to gather up her family technique manuals, which she now spent most of her time perusing. Shikamaru, also not bothering to leave his residence any more than he had to, was almost in constant practice, on Ino's instruction, with his mental chakra control. Thus far, he had managed to perform a weak mental confusion technique. Unfortunately, he was often halted in his practice, as he would run out of chakra extremely fast, not being able to gain complete control yet.

This was how the days passed, with Ino cooking a few crispy meals and them sleeping, poor Shika being reduced to the couch, despite his complaints that it was only hurting _Ino's _body.

"Oi, Ino. Thought I appreciate your cooking meals and all, I'd appreciate it even more if my hands weren't covered in burns when I get back inside it…" Shikamaru mumbled as he watched Ino suck his burnt finger, which had gotten splashed with hot broth a moment before.

Ino shot him a glare and carefully poured two bowls of miso soup and set them on the table next to the rest of the meal.

Shikamaru picked at the vegetables, trying to stay away from the new food item before him.

"It's an omelet, they're good. I make them at home all the time. If you eat it with the rice, it's even better."

"I know what an omelet is, Ino."

Ino only shrugged and began to nibble at her food.

They ate in silence, which was becoming the norm now, neither had much to say to the other anymore. However, it was doubtful that their thoughts were as blank as their speech was.

Shikamaru washed dishes while Ino continued to peruse the manuals. (they agreed that Ino would cook and Shikamaru would clean up after.)

Their longstanding silence was broken by Ino, sniffing the air around her curiously. Eventually, she realized that the odor she was investigating came from her own body. "Wow, boys can really start to stink after a couple of days…" She commented.

Shikamaru blushed and frowned.

"Well, we haven't really bathed in a couple of days, you know. We should probably take showers or something. I don't like being filthy, either."

Ino's face turned bright red at the thought.

"No way." She said coldly and turned back to her book.

"Ino, it's not that big of a deal, you know. I mean, we have to go to the bathroom, showers aren't all that different."

Ino huffed and continued to face in the opposite direction.

Shikamaru dried his soft hands and pulled a strand of Ino's long hair out of his face.

"Look Ino. It needs to just be done. If you want, we can go together…would that make you feel better? To see your own body?"

Ino blushed a deeper red and slumped over.

"You need to decide if you would rather me wash your body or you do it, with my hands. Either way, we're going to end up seeing each other, there's no way around it. Remember that it was your technique that did this in the first place, you shouldn't have done it if you weren't prepared for any possible consequences."

Ino nodded and rose to her feet.

"I guess you're right. I'll go first, since you're dirtier." And she hurried back towards the bathroom, avoiding his eyes at all costs.

Within minutes, Shikamaru heard the unmistakable sound of the shower running and sighed.

"This is the worst thing that's ever happened to me in my entire life…I'm taking a shower with a girl and my mind isn't even there to witness it."

X x x x x x x x x xX

Ino just stared at her reflection in the mirror as the room started to fill up with steam from the hot water. She looked down at her dirty clothes and pulled off her T-shirt, letting it fall to the floor. Next, she undid her pants, dropping them into the pile she was accumulating.

She paused, he fingers halting at her boxers and quickly retreating. Instead, she decided to pull out her ponytail, unwinding the strap until Shikamaru's black hair fell around her face, tickling her shoulders with their light touch.

She caught her reflection in the mirror again, this time, looking herself up and down, inspecting.

Damn…who would've known that Shikamaru was so…sexy? Especially under all of those loose clothes he always wore. And why does he always wear his hair up? Shit, he almost rivaled Sasuke with it down!

Ino shook her head, willing the thoughts away and remembered her 'mission.'

She took a deep breath, shut her eyes and pulled the boxers down, adding them to her pile of fabric.

Cold.

_'Just get in the shower. Don't look down. Eyes straight ahead. No big deal'_ She thought to herself as she stepped into the warm water.

She hadn't been in for more than five minutes when she heard the door open and a voice call out to her.

"Oi, Ino?"

"Wahh! Shikamaru! What the hell are you doing!"

"Hey!" He yelled as he got pelted with a bar of soap.

"You can't just barge in here!"

"Why not, baka? It's not like I haven't seen MYSELF in the nude before!"

Ino paused and remembered her situation.

"Oh. Sorry. Reflex." She squeaked.

"Geez…"

"What did you want?"

"Just…don't use any of that girly stuff on my body, alright? I don't want to smell like a girl." He mumbled from behind the curtain.

"Trust me, it would be better than how you were smelling before."

"Whatever."

He closed the door behind him as he left.

Ino was able to finish her shower in peace, and went behind Shikamaru, using her sweet-smelling conditioner sparingly on his tangled hair. She marveled at the firmness of his body, his muscles well built by his rough lifestyle, as she scrubbed with his shower wash, which smelled surprisingly good. Like a mixture of various forest aromas.

She got out, wrapped her lower half in a towel, feeling strange with her torso exposed. (Not normal for a girl.) It was easy to brush his hair now, after being lightly conditioned.

She left the bathroom and went straight to his bedroom, clothing herself and hanging up the towel before heading back out to the living room, not bothering to pull his hair up.

"My turn."

"No nasty thoughts in there, buddy."

The shower started up again. Shikamaru didn't pause as Ino did in undressing, but it did take him quite a long time to figure out how to unhook the tiny clasps of her bra. Nor did he pause to gawk at himself in the mirror, like any typical male would.

He showered quickly, shampooing and conditioning her hair, as he thought necessary, and washing her body, trying not to think about the fact that he was cupping Ino's perfect breasts in the process.

He clumsily wrapped her body in a towel and made his way, still wet into the bedroom and rummaged through the bag of clothes Ino had brought. He dressed himself, not paying any attention to the matching of the clothes he pulled out, again spending a great deal of time clasping the bra and walked out to the living room.

"I guess I don't need to make you change, since I won't be leaving this house for a while, so you can go unmatched. Come here." She said, eyes closed as she held up a brush.

He sat down on the ground in front of her and let her run the brush through his long, blonde hair. Once she had pulled a couple of tangles out, it actually felt kind of nice.

"Aren't you going to pull my hair up?" He asked in a relaxed tone.

"Nah, I like how it looks down, you should do it more often." She answered calmly.

"Fine, then I'm leaving yours down too."

"It's your body." Ino chuckled.

Shikamaru smiled and leaned further unto Ino's lap, sighing contentedly.

X x x x x x x x xX

"Shikamaru!" Ino called from the kitchen, she was halfway through making dinner and Shikamaru was reading the last page of a manual. He dropped the book and stood, to see Ino standing in the archway, holding a green scroll out to him.

"Shit." He took the scroll from her and broke the seal, reading it.

"You're summoned to the office of the Hokage for a mission brief. Rank B. With Neji, and Tenten. Ten minutes."

"You're summoned or me?"

"Well, technically, me. But you'll be the one to go, of course."

Ino's shoulders dropped and she took of the apron she had on, folding it over the back of a nearby chair.

"Don't worry, as long as Neji's going, You'll be fine. And it's only a B mission. Come back and tell me details before you leave."

Ino nodded and closed the door behind her, leaving Shikamaru to pace around the kitchen, nibbling at Ino's half-prepared meal.

"Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Neji, and Tenten.Once again, you have been summoned on this mission. To retrieve Uzumaki Naruto. The little shit left again on his search for Uchiha Sasuke, and I want him back. The brat just won't listen to me, I told him we'd send out a squad when the time is right. You know the drill. Shikamaru will be your leader, listen to him. You leave in two hours from the main gate."

Tsunade looked furious as they excused themselves from the office.

"Not again…I say we beat the crap out of that kid when we find him, so we won't have to go out on this stupid mission again." Tenten whined.

"uh, I have to stop by the house for something real quick, I'll meet you guys at the gate in two hours." Ino said, bounding off.

"Oh, pssh. You'll be fine; these missions are a piece of cake. Have Neji locate him, he'll have gotten about 2 miles by now. You'll just have to double-time it to catch up with him, it should take you about two days. Once you do, try to talk him into coming back, if not, just use the Kage Mane on him until you're back to the village. Use only a small amount of chakra, so you'll last all the way back."

"Why does Tenten even have to come then? It doesn't seem like she likes the assignment very much."

"Tsunade likes sending her because she beats Naruto up a bit on the way home, it makes up for her not being able to do it, I think."

Ino nodded, trying not to laugh.

"Alright, practice the Kage Mane real quick." Shikamaru said, walking to the other side of the room and facing her.

Ino thought for a minute, remembering the signs and clasped her hands.

"Kage Mane no Jitsu!"

Her shadow stretched across the room, latching onto Shika's and she walked in circles, her captive mimicking her every move.

"You have no idea how good it feels to not be on the receiving end of this for once." She smiled as she cancelled the technique.

"Don't get too excited, that's only the most basic level of my techniques, you'd need a bit of practice before you could perform anything higher."

She stuck her tongue out and headed to the kitchen, eating what was left of her dinner.

"Well, maybe I should practice them then, since you're going to be learning almost all of my techniques. And who knows how long we're going to be stuck. It may not hurt to learn some higher techniques." She called from the kitchen.

"Alright, time to go!"

"Be careful; don't kill my body off or anything. I don't want to stay a girl forever, you know."

Ino scowled at him, crossing her arms.

"Fine, fine, sorry, and I wouldn't want you to die either." He sighed. "I thought you already knew that though."

She left for the gates, waving behind her at Shikamaru, who stood in the window, watching the boy until he was no longer in sight.

* * *

Alright, there it is, Please Review, as you can see it really does make me want tp update a lot faster, and I have a lot of ideas on what could happen to these two!

Review!


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks so much tl all of you that reviewed, I feel so special! Well, we're at chapter 3 now, a lot pf people seem to like this fic! Yay! I hope you all like this one too, please tell me that you like, it, I'll update it faster, honest!

Hi Hikari! Love you! Post your fics and make me happy!

Disclaimer- Alas, Naruto is not mine, and neither is Shika-kun...:sniff:.

* * *

Shikamaru moped around his now empty house, flopping unto the couch, staring at the pile of scrolls spread about on his coffee table.

"I guess, I could look through them again…" He sighed, not very enthuiastc at the thought.

He had perused the Yamanaka Technique scrolls a few times already, not able to find anything new about this mysterious 'switching' technique, except the seals to perform it. Still, there was no way he could perform the jutsu yet, he could barely hold a confusion technique.

The day passes, still nothing. Ino probably wouldn't be back from his mission for at least another day, but he still had nothing to do. Now, usually, he would've put up no complaints to lounging around all day and staring at the clouds from his porch, but he felt indifferent in Ino's body…it just wasn't the same!

He decided that he needed help, someone to discuss this problem with, and he departed for his friend's house, after trying his best to put Ino in a matching outfit.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Ding-dong!_

"Ino?"

Shikamaru sighed, "Yeah, sure. Can I talk to you for a minute, Chouji? Want to go to lunch? My treat."

Chouji's eyes sparkled and he reached for his wool scarf, exiting his house and slamming the door behind him, obviously excited.

They sat at a secluded table in one of the more deserted of cafes in town, Chouji eating his meal and Shikamaru taking small bites of his mackerel.

"I didn't think anybody but Shikamaru liked mackerel, Ino. Are you going to start eating kelp too?" Chouji joked, finishing off his dish.

"Chouji, it's me…" Ino said, staring at him intently.

"I know it's you, Ino. I was just joking."

"No, really. It's me, Shikamaru."

Chouji sat silent, then grinned.

"Ino, Shikamaru's out on a mission, he's not here."

"Dammit, Chouji! Would you listen! I'm not Ino, I'm Shikamaru!"

Chouji glared at his blonde teammate.

"What are you talking about?"

"Ino tried out this technique on me the other day, a mind-switch. And now I'm stuck in Ino's body until I can figure out how to perform the technique to switch us back." He sighed.

Chouji sat, his head in his hands, obviously thinking hard.  
"Okay, okay…IF that's possible….wait…IS that possible? That doesn't sound like any of Ino's usual techniques."

"I know, it's a forbidden one, her father apparently discontinued the practice of it, for this reason, exactly."

"Well, that makes sense."

"So, now I'm stuck trying to learn how to do her techniques, and they really suck! They're hard as hell! It's no wonder they have such a limited amount of techniques, they're impossible to master! I've been doing shadow jitsus since I was ten, but, apparently, Ino had to start her training when she was only five. They're **that** hard, you have to start at a young age to master them."

"I see, how far have you gotten?"

"I can barely do a confusion technique. I don't think it'll be any sooner than a month at this rate. I need some serious help. And with Ino gone on that mission, I have no idea where to start!"

Chouji sat back and thought for a bit. Snapping his fingers together.

"Why don't you ask Inoshi? He trained Ino, it should be a breeze for him to teach you too. Or at least give you some pointers."

"Chouji, there's no way I'm going over there, in Ino's body no less. First of all; he'd kill me, just for being in his precious baby's body. Second, he'd tell my father, then I'd never live it down. Third, he'd kill me."

"Well, why don't you just not tell him what happened, just pretend to be Ino." Chouji said casually, picking his teeth with a toothpick,

"And tell him what, 'Hey daddy, I want you to teach me everything you've ever taught me all over again, start from scratch, I can't seem to remember the last 16 years of my life.' I don't think that would work." He replied, a little to sarcasticly.

"Well what about asking him about this particular technique, say you came across it during training and were curious. You're the genius, you'll think of something."

Shikamaru slouched back in his chair, thinking. Chouji got up, ready to leave.

"Well, thanks for lunch, but I have some things I need to do for my mom. I'll catch you leter, Ino." He joked as he left the table, leaving Shikamaru to rummage around for the exact change to pay the bill.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He paced around on the porch of the Yamanaka house, thinking of the right words to say. He took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Inoshi soon appeared in the doorway, looking at him strangely.

"Um...Hi Daddy!" He said in the cutest voice he could muster.

"Hello there sweetie. You know, you didn't have to ring the bell, you do still live here, after all."

'_Shit'_ Shikamaru thought.

"I just wanted to surprise you." He said, trying again to sound cute.

They went inside and Ino sat down on the couch, across from her dad, who seemed to be going through his ninja equipment, sharpening and cleaning the kunai and shuriken.

"Did you need something, baby?" He asked, picking up another weapon and sharpening it carefully.

"Um, yes. I was just wondering…I was looking through some of our older training scrolls and came across an interesting technique and wanted you to teach it to me."

"Oh, really. Which one was that?"

"It was a mind-switch technique."

Inoshi set down the kunai and turned to face his daughter. "Ino, that technique was discontinued, it should've said that in the description. You know that there are some jitsus that can't be used anymore, they're too dangerous."

'_Obviously not, cause she did it anyway…_' he thought. "I know, but, why is it not used anymore, daddy? Did something happen?"

Inoshi sat back in his chair. "Your grandfather developed that technique oh…about 34 years ago. He tried it on one of his training partners and they ended up being stuck in each other's bodies for 6 months."

Shikamaru stiffened, _'SIX MONTHS!'_

"How did they get out of it?" Ha said, as calmly as he could manage.

"It was hard to figure out, but it ended up that they had to both learn to perform the jitsu at the same time. Once they figured out what they needed to do, it was easy to overturn the technique. They needed to mix the mental and physical chakra of their minds and bodies together just enough to balance out and switch back. It's very easy, it just takes a little practice."

"Hmmm. So, you're saying that if I switched places with someone, the only thing I'd have to do to switch back would be for both people to perform the jitsu at the same time and I could switch back?"

"Yes, sweetie. But don't worry about it, cause I wouldn't let you use the technique in the first place. It's one thing for you to be using mind-control on others, but I don't want someone else in my precious baby's body. I would have to kill them, sweetheart." Inoshi said, a little too casually.

"Um, right daddy. Well, I should be getting back to Sakura's, I think I might've left the water running." Shikamaru said and bolted out the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, on Shikamaru's mission, Ino was having a hard time in a leadership position, even though Neji was told to practice for himself.

"Shikamaru, did you want us to go separately or together this time? Do you remember which was faster last time?"

"I thought it was together that worked out better last time." Tenten chimed in, leaping up from behind.

Shikamaru nodded to Neji and they picked up their pace.

It took longer than expected to reach their target, almost a day and a half, the team barely stopping to rest. Nevertheless, they did catch up with their blonde comrade, halting his explorations and cutting him off in a clearing.

"Shikamaru! Dammit, not again! I told the old lady that I needed to search for Sasuke!"

"I know Naruto, but you weren't given permission to leave the village, that's considered abandonment. I swear, if she didn't want you for her successor, you'd spend half your life in the stockades." Tenten whined.

"We can either do this the easy way or the hard way…again. It's your choice, Naruto. But you know that you're going to be coming back to the village with us, whether you like it or not." Neji added.

Ino nodded, ready to make the seals to send out Shikamaru's shadow and entrap the energetic blonde at any moment.

Naruto seemed to hesitate for a moment, clenching his fists at his sides.

"I have to find him, I promised Sakura. It's been over two years!" He said through gritted teeth.

Shikamaru walked up behind him and placed a hand on his tensed shoulder. "I know, Naruto, but you need to think rationally about this, suddenly leaving the village does nothing for anyone, least of all Sakura. Do you think she likes having her mentor in a foul mood whenever you decide to leave? Tsunade promised that she would dispatch another team to find Sasuke when the time was right. You just need to be patient." Naruto looked at his friend, surprised at his words, they were so…gentle.

He smirked and started going back in the direction of the village.

"You sound like you're going soft, Shikamaru." he laughed.

'_Uh-oh! Did I sound too feminine?_' Ino thought, turning to follow him, seeing Tenten swat Naruto over the back of the head, reprimanding him for leading them out on yet another chase after him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shikamaru had barely gotten out the door of Ino's house when he heard Ino's dad calling after him again.

"Ino! Ino, sweetie!" He stopped to face 'his' father, remembering that it was him he was calling out to.

"This came for you from the Hokage's office just this morning, I forgot to give it to you before. Looks like mission scrolls. Good luck, baby" He dropped a purple scroll into her hands and headed back towards the house.

'_Shit…_' He thought as he opened the scroll.

"Yamanaka Ino, you are summoned to the office of the Hokage for a mission briefing. 2 o'clock." He read out loud.

He mumbled under his breath and looked up at the clock tower.

1:27.

'_Oh well, might as well go early and save myself the trouble of going home again_.' He thought, shoving the scroll and his hands into his pockets. He strolled through town at a casual pace.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Yamanaka, you're a bit early, but the Hokage can see you." The secretary nin outside said, waving her through the doors.

Ino looked around, there was no one else in the room.

"Ino, glad you could make it, early, but it's no matter, we can start the brief. Just means you'll be leaving earlier." Tsunade said, reaching for some papers.

"Shouldn't we wait for the other team members, Hokage-sama?" He asked casually.

"Funny Ino. This will be another solo mission. You should be used to these by now, they're the norm for members of the spy unit."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. '_Spy unit? Since when was Ino one the spy unit?_' He thought. Sure, it made sense, now that he thought about it, not many people knew the list of nin on the spy list, due to the secretiveness of their missions, and Ino with her mind techniques was perfect for it.

"It'll be the usual kind of mission, basic information gathering…" She continued to rummage around for a piece of paper, apparently.

"Aha. Knew I put it in there somewhere. Here is the rendezvous, the target, objective and anything else you might need to know. Basic routine, unfortunately, you'll have to get a bit closer this time, we need details."

Shikamaru didn't really understand yet, but continued to listen.

"Before you leave, go down to supplies and show them this, they'll know what to do with you and what to give you. Any questions?"

Shikamaru had plenty, but he didn't think it wise to ask, it seemed like Ino had done this many times before and he didn't want to make himself look foolish.

So, he shook his head, accepted the paper with his instructions and headed out of the office.

* * *

Id you review, I update faster. Sorry that this chapter is a little later then the other one, the server at my school (Where I usually write these) was down for a few days. Stupid people and their hacking abilities!

Anyways, please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Alright minna-san! Here's the next chapter, sorry it took so long! I had a lot of trouble with this one...not matter how many times I wrote it, it kept turning out too serious! Anyways, I buckled down and decided that sometimes you need serious chapters...

Thanks to all of you who reviewed,I had no idea that you would like this story so much! Yay!

...I still don't own this awesome series...

Enjoy!

* * *

"What the hell is this?" Shikamaru gasped, looking at himself in the full length mirror.

"Is something wrong, Yamanaka-san?" The assistant beside her asked, obviously concerned. "This was the outfit you wore on your last assignment, does it look different?" She added, smoothing out the folds of the kimono.

Shikamaru stared, he…or rather, Ino, was in a beautiful blue kimono that fell loosely around her shoulders, exposing just enough skin to drive any man crazy, embroidered with silver waves and tied with a white obi. Her make-up looked light and stunning, and her hair was woven beautifully atop her head. My God, did she look beautiful. If he ever saw Ino dressed like this in his own body, it'd be hard not to stare…he might even drool.

"Yamanaka-san?" the attendant asked again, still eager to know what he found wrong.

Shikamaru thought quickly. "Oh, it's nothing, it just seems that I fill it out more than last time, I should watch what I eat more." He giggled as best he could.

"Oh. Actually, I think it fits a little more loosely this time around. You're just too hard on yourself." The woman said, smoothing out a wrinkle. "So, is there anything else you think you'll need? What type of mission is it, should I fix you with the paralysis lip balm again? Or maybe something else?"

'_Lip balm?_' He thought, and then he realized that he hadn't even read the mission report yet. "Oh, silly me, let me check, I haven't read it yet!" Shikamaru pulled out the scroll and skimmed the contents.

His eyes went wide at what he saw.

'_Mission type- Reconnaissance._

_Target description- 25 year old male, long blonde hair, husky build, goes by the name of 'Hayashi'._

_Intended objective- location and any other information regarding a group of ex-ninja/bandits supposedly hiding out in the outlands. Poses a threat to surrounding territory._

_Outline- Seduction tactics will be used to lure target away from any company. Use whatever means necessary within notable boundaries, target is not to be captured, only interrogated. Physical temptation is suggested within suitable limits._

_Rank- B_'

**Oh. My. God.**

Shikamaru knew that kunoichi were sometimes used for seduction missions, and that spies were the most likely, but INO! She was only nineteen! How could she have been doing this and not telling him and Chouji? Granted, he probably wouldn't have understood the full height of it all but it would've been nice to know!

Who was he kidding, she probably just thought he wouldn't care or even pay attention.

...Or she knew the verythought of her seducing another man would piss him off to no end...

Shikamaru handed the scroll to the attendant, who read it surprisingly quickly and rushed off to get some things.

Shikamaru stood silent until she returned, carrying a few vials and assorted envelopes.

"I think these should do nicely. This is a fancy little thing Tsunade-sama just came out with, slip it in his drink, and it'll be like he's just had five times the alcohol any man should be able to handle. Or, if things get close enough that you can do it, this pill, when transferred mouth to mouth, is like a temporary truth serum. He'll tell you anything if you ask for five minutes. And, the most drastic one, if nothing else works, memory loss. After an interrogation, inject him with this and he won't remember the last hour and he'll sleep long enough for you to get away." She stuffed the small items between the folds of her kimono and smiled, indicating that it was time for her to leave. Shikamaru turned to the exit from whence he came.

"Yamanaka-san? You need to take the spy exit, you don't want anyone to recognize you through town, your cover will be blown."

The woman ushered Shikamaru over to another mirror and formed a few seals, the mirror faded and steps appeared, Shikamaru nodded and began what looked like a long walk in his new, surprisingly constricting clothes.

XOXOXOXOXOX

Meanwhile, Ino's team had taken their time getting back to Konoha and it was nearing late evening when the crossed the gates into the village. The team headed straight for the Hokage's office, but were shooed out quickly after the meeting, with the exception of Naruto. (A great deal of broken glass and screams emanated from the room as they left….)

"I'm back, Shikamaru!" She said inhis trademark tired voice, lazily closing the door behind her.

When nobody answered, she looked around the house for any sign of….herself. She found no blondes around the apartment, but did find a notepad with a sloppy note on it. Geez, how could he still have such bad handwriting in her body? Her letters didn't look like this!

'_Ino,_

_I got sent out on one of your missions, it's so troublesome. I asked one of the nin at the office to drop this where I would see it, I hope he wasn't too incompetent and you find it. Anyways, if I'm leaving now, I should be back within a few days, how hard could your missions be, right? Hope you didn't make me look like a girl._

_Shikamaru'_

She huffed at his words and threw the notepad back on the desk where she found it, flopping down onto the couch and stretching.

_'We'll see how easy you think my missions are, Nara._' She thought to herself, letting her mind wander. She was just about to doze off when a thought struck her and she sat up ridged in her seat.

_'Oh my god, they better not have given me another one of_ those _missions! No way could he do that! Nobody's supposed to know what they entail! What's he going to think of me?_' She thought, cupping a hand over her mouth. "Well, seduction is usually a last resort….Shika is smart, he'll figure out a way around it." She tried to assure herself.

Mumbling, she got up and headed back to the room, too tired to make herself dinner this late at night.

XOXOXOXOX

Shikamaru strolled into a small tavern on the outskirts of a village just past the fire nations boundaries. Many of the men grew quiet and began to whisper to one another with interest. Shikamaru scanned over the heads expertly until his eyes fixed on a group of bulky looking men in the corner. He took a deep breath and took a seat at a single table nearby, making sure that the group had a full view from their seats. ...It really sucked to be sitting in those constraining clothes...

It made him sick to hear the provocative calls directed at him from all corners of the bar, and it pissed him off even more that Ino was used for this kind of mission.

It didn't take long for a tavern girl to come over, carrying a small glass of wine and setting it on the table before him.

"The man over there- in the corner- wanted to send you this drink. And he asks if you would join him at a more private table in the lounge." The girl pointed to a heavily muscled blonde man in the corner and Shikamaru nodded, noticing that he fit the target description the closest of anyone else in the tavern.

The girl went to report his answer and he didn't have to wait long for the man to come over and offer his arm. Shikamaru giggled, trying to mask his disgust and accepted it, following his escort back through a set of doors and leaving the noise of the tavern behind.

They sat down at a secluded table in the back corner, him sitting a little to close for comfort. He quickly thought of what equipment he had; the drink powder, truth pill, memory loss injection and three emergency kunai, attached to a strap on his thigh.

They didn't have anything to drink, so that temporally ruled out the drinking powder. He would have to attempt planB until something else came up.

For awhile, the two engaged in conversation, him mostly asking her personal questions about her measurements and him trying to change the conversation.

A waitress reprieved him by bringing them drinks and he waited until his back was turned for an instant to slip the small amount of powder into his drink, thankfully abandoning the plan to kiss the dirty man.

"Would you like to play a little drinking game, Hayashi-kun?" He chimed innocently, lifting his glass.

The man grinned and reached for his own glass, tapping it against hers.

"Do you think you could finish your drink before me?" He said, sounding sweet.

"I'm one of the best drinkers in our gang, I just hope you're not a cheap drunk, missy. I would have to take advantage of you if you passed out, you know." He laughed, Shikamaru was shocked at the honesty of this pig. He actually admitted he would take advantage of a drunken girl! Shikamaru broiled with anger inside, but fought to maintain his sweet outward appearance.

They clinked glasses and downed their contents, slamming them on the table simultaneously.

Shikamaru grinned, he wasn't a big drinker, but alcohol was in his blood and he knew he could hold it very well. '_Any minute now, you're going to be falling all over yourself, asshole_.' He thought, liking the thought of kicking him around a bit once he was drunk enough.

After a few more drinks, Hayashi was beginning to look affected, but Shikamaru was starting to feel strange. He gasped to himself when he realized his fatal mistake.

'_Shit! I'm a good drinker, but I'm in Ino's body! She probably can't hold her alcohol for shit!_' He blinked slowly, letting his eyes adjust. The man before him laughed and scooped the tipsy girl into his arms with ease.

Shikamaru protested, flailing as best he could, but the man just laughed harder.

"I told you missy, I'm no gentleman, you get drunk around me and I'm going to have my fun." He smirked, kicking a door to one of the stay-rooms above the tavern.

Shikamaru thought with all his might, his mind drifting back to the kunai and memory injection. That was his only option at this point. Unless...

They had reached the room and Hayashi threw the girl onto the bed, looming over her, beginning to remove his shirt.

Shikamaru took a few deep breaths and reached up the skirt of the kimono, releasing the kunai from their place, scratching himself as he pulled them out.

The man laughed at the teetering girl o the bed, struggling to hold the kunai. He knocked them out of the way and pushed her down, laying on top of her to keep her from attacking.

"I like 'em fiery, girlie." he grunted as he began to tear at the kimono folds. He nipped Ino's pale neck as the fabric gave way. He crushed his lips against hers, kissing her forcefully.

-_gulp_-

He man brought a hand up to his throat, realizing that he had just swallowed something.

"You bitch!" He moved to slap Shikamaru, who easily dodged the attack, standing and picking up his dropped kunai.

"What did you give me, you hoar?" He yelled, staggering back and falling to the bed.

"Truth serum. Now you'll tell me what I want to know." He grinned, placing the kunai against his throat threateningly. "What a stupid asshole you are, falling for a drunken act. I'm tipsy, but not to the point that that I can't take out one slobbering piece of shit."

An hour later, Shikamaru withdrew the needle from his captives neck, tossing it into a nearby trash bin.

The man lie on the bed still, sleeping as if caught by death, his face bloodied and disfigured from the beating he had received. Shikamaru rubbed his throbbing neck, where the bastard had bit him before. After doing his best to adjust the torn kimono, he quietly exited the room, taking the backdoor out of the tavern.

Still, as he made the journey home, he could not suppress the feeling of rage that had become buried deep inside him. Anger that Ino had to go through with such mission and sadness that she never told him. He began to wonder what else she might've done, and tried not to think of what could happen if she failed. Had she ever failed?

As he neared the gates, he realized what Ino hadn't told him of her missions….

It might've driven him insane…

* * *

Alrighty then, there you go! I hope you don't dislike it beacuse of the lack of comedy.

Please review and tell me what you thought!


	5. Chapter 5

Hello, minna-san! I'm so sorry that this post has been so late! GOMEN GOMEN! As I'm sure everyone here can understand, I've been a bit busy...But here it is! There might be only one more chapter to this story, I haven't sorted it out yet.

Disclaimer- I don't own NARUTO, or any of it's fabulous characters, including Shika-kun...

Enjoy!

* * *

Ino walked through the streets of Konoha slowly, trying not to attract any unwanted attention, it seemed Shikamaru's body had affected her mind more than she thought, talking didn't appeal to her anymore. Through the crowd, he caught a glimpse of the Hokages' office and wondered if Shikamaru would be back with her body anytime soon.

"He'd better be taking good care of me." She mumbled to herself, entering the market.

She finished her trip to the market and walked back towards Shikamaru's apartment, shifting the paper bag from hand to hand. She had only needed a few of the essentials and didn't want to shop too much without Shikamaru, in case he wanted some food as well.

As she rounded the corner in the hallway of the complex, a blonde head of hair came into view outside the door.

She cringed when she got close enough to recognize the visitor.

Temari...

Ino had never liked Temari. There was just something about her that infuriated Ino every time her name came up. Maybe it was her cocky attitude, or tomboyish manner. Or it could be her trim, muscular figure and seductive eyes. …Or that it had been rumored for nearly a year that she had been 'involved' with Shikamaru during her frequent visits to Konoha for the Chunnin exams. She made a face at the thought of the body she now resided in being so close to that sand woman.

"Hey there, Nara. I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd check up on my favorite lazy fire ninja." She grinned, placing her hands on her hips.

"In the neighborhood? You have a mission or something? It's too early for the examiners' meetings." Ino snapped, fighting the urge to tell her off as she reached for her key and turned the knob, standing in the doorway, trying to block her guest's admittance.

Temari giggled. "Oh? And since when do we only get together on a professional basis? I thought we were close enough by now to pay each other little surprise visits." She pinched his cheek playfully and Ino brushed her hand away, obviously annoyed.

"Well, I'm kinda busy today, actually. I just got back from a mission yesterday and…"  
"Oh, come on now, you know I'm not as stupid as that, Nara." She said, shoving her way past Ino in the doorway and sitting on the couch, leaning her fan against the wall beside her.

Ino sighed and grumbled her way over to the kitchen, putting the groceries away. She slammed the refrigerator door and came face to face with those seductive eyes she despised.

Slightly caught off guard, she stumbled away, to the other end of the small room, trying to put a little bit of space between them.

"So, Shikamaru. We gonna have some fun or what?" She grinned, reaching up to untie the ponytail atop his head.

"What are you talking about?" Ino said, dodging her attempt.

"You said you'd consider some fooling around the next time you saw me, I'm here to take you up on the offer." She said, moving closer to him.

"Oh I did? Well, I changed my mind. Sorry you came all this way for nothing." She said coldly.

Temari's eyes narrowed. "What is wrong with you? Are you some kind of idiot? I'm right here, wanting you and you're not even reacting at all. Was it so horrible the first time?" She said, her voice level beginning to rise. She stepped closer, so that she was only inches from her face.

Ino took her by the shoulders, bracing her away, but Temari broke free and crushed their lips together. Ino, disgusted, took her shoulders again, trying to force her off...the woman was frickin strong!

"Temari, I think it's time for you to go." She said through gritted teeth.

"Just once more…" She whispered, leaning in and touching their lips again. Ino turned her head, breaking the kiss.

Temari took a step back, her eyes bearing a mix of hurt and anger.

"It's that girl. That blonde. You still…." She broke off, turning and heading back into the living room.

Ino followed, watching her gather up her fan and heading for the door.

"I'll see you at the next examiners meeting then." She said coldly, without looking back as she closed the door behind her.

Ino stared at the motionless door for a minute, the rage boiling inside her.

'_How long has Shikamaru been involved with her? What the hell was she talking about, the **first time**?' _She thought, the anger welling up, she clasped her fists, tightening them until it felt like they would burst..

'_Shikamaru has some explaining to do…'_

XOXOXOXOX

Shikamaru walked through town at a slightly quicker pace than usual, wanting to get home and bathe as soon as possible.

'_I can't stand feeling like this anymore, that filthy bastard….'_

…and to ask Ino to explain her missions to him. He didn't like her keeping something this serious from him.

He gritted his teeth and quickened his pace.

He rounded the corner, onto his street and made contact with another person, running in the opposite direction. Both bodies hit the floor with a thud.

Shikamaru rubbed his head, and looked to the girl next to him, recognizing her instantly.

"T-Temari?"

She looked up to face him, she looked instantly mad upon seeing his, or rather Ino's face staring back at her.

"What?" She snapped, picking herself up and dusting off.

"Nothing…uh…what are you doing here?" He asked, brushing off his own purple outfit.

"Just paying a visit to your boyfriend. You'd best just stay out of my way, girlie…I'm not one to give up so easily." She snapped again, beginning to walk off in the opposite direction.

Shikamaru watched her round the corner, until he realized what she meant.

'_Oh shit…_'

He took off in a sprint towards his apartment, fumbling with his keys and slamming the door open when he got there.

"Ino!" He called, but he didn't see his body anywhere. He closed the door and began to enter the living room when he came face to face with his own eyes, fixed in a death glare. It quickly dispersed, however, and the eyes became lifeless and emotion-deprived.

"How was my mission? Harder than you thought, huh? Oh, Temari paid you a little visit." Ino said flatly, shoving past him into the living room. She flopped onto the couch, her arms crossed and back ridgid.

"I know, I passed her on my way up here….You know, Ino, it's not what you think…She come up here and tries..." He started.

"So, what was this 'first time' she talked about as she forced herself on you, or rather me?" She asked, refusing to move.

Shikamaru winced. "She did it again, did she?" He said, taking a seat on a nearby chair across the room.

"You bet she did, she kissed me and wanted to fool around, like the first time! What did you do?" Ino yelled, her eyes trying to fight back tears, but she didn't know why she wanted to cry.

Shikamaru rested his head in his hands, thinking about how to tell his story. "It was right after I was promoted to Chuunin, after the Sasuke retrieval mission. I was sent to the sand country to thank them for their assistance." He started. "I was there for only a few days, but they were partying the whole time, one of them had a birthday or something important like that. They were practically shoving the alcohol down my throat."

Shikamaru paused, glancing at Ino, who was listening intently, a cold expression on her face.

"I was pretty drunk, and still a little distraught from the last mission, Temari and I took a walk to get some air, and before I knew it, she was on top of me in the grass….I say that nothing happened, but she's convinced that it was some kind of special moment. She's been like that ever since, trying to experience it again. She's even tried to get me drunk again." he chuckled, realizing too late the lack of humor.

Ino sat silent for a moment.

"You should've told Chouji and me, maybe we could've helped or something."

"Chouji knows, I told him right after."

"Oh….so you just decided not to tell _me_."

"I didn't think it concerned you, or that you would care." He said seriously.

"Fine. I just don't like secrets, they only cause problems, like this one."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I know of a secret you've kept from everybody. And I had to find out in a very surprising way. About your mission types…."

Ino's eyes widened.

"You didn't go on…one of…those? Did you?"

"You bet I did. Spy missions…you'd never know what they entail. I didn't know you were even capable of something like that, Ino. And you kept it from both Chouji and me."

Ino's gaze dropped to the floor, shocked.

"I didn't want you guys to know, I thought…"

"You thought what? That we'd think badly of you? Only when you try to keep this shit from us! Sneaking around like that. Spy tunnels to avoid being seen, half-tied kimonos…it's like you're trying to live as another person."

"Wow, you got the whole deal…" She whispered.

"No shit, I did, disgusting crap…. How long have you been taking these kind of missions, Ino?"

"Since I was inducted into the spy unit last year, it's part of the job."

Shikamaru sighed, trying to keep his expression calm, Ino noticed him struggling and continued.

"But that's not the only kind of mission I do, there are a lot of regular spy workings to be done too. We've all done things we're not proud of, it's part of being a ninja. I know my duty, so I take these missions. It's not like I enjoy them, anyways." She pouted the last sentence, turning her head.

Shikamaru thought about her words. It was true, he had done some things in his missions that he wasn't particularly proud of, and there was no way he was going to go around telling people about them, it wasn't right that he expect Ino to act any differently.

"It was probably better that I didn't know about it…now I'm going to think about it every time you go off on a mission. It's going to drive me crazy."

Ino looked up to meet his gaze and blushed, a slight smile creeping to her lips. "You shouldn't worry about it, we're friends but we're not dating or anything. There's no reason for you to be jealous."

Shikamaru matched her blush. "Jealous? Who ever said I would be jealous? I just don't want to think about you seducing other men all the time, it's…distracting."

Ino blinked, then smiled evilly.

"Oh? Only other men? Does that mean you would like me to seduce you, Shika-kun?" She cooed, then giggled at his surprised expression.

"Not like it would do any good while I'm in your body, I don't think that would turn you on at all." She laughed, walking towards the kitchen, stopping at the entryway.

"Let's make a deal, okay? I'll try to avoid those missions, if you promise not to ask about them. And I'll stay out of your business with Temari, if you like her, that's your issue, not mine."

Shikamaru rose in protest. "Whoa, wait a minute. I think we should get one thing straight, I don't like Temari at all. She's just an acquaintance. I don't want you thinking anything of her and I, there's nothing there."

Ino smiled, turning her head and heading into the refrigerator. "Hai, hai."

Ino cooked them dinner while Shikamaru took a much needed shower, again trying not to think about how nice Ino's breasts looked covered in soap. He emerged in some of his own loose clothes, for a bit of a change and sat down at the table just as Ino was serving him. Their meal was strangely pleasant, sharing a few laughs and stories.

They felt closer now that the tension was gone.

"We need to figure out how to switch back though. I might go talk to my father and see what he knows." Ino said between bites.

"Oh, I already did. I completely forgot. He said that you grandfather developed the technique and that the only way to reverse it is for your mind and body to be in sync. We need to perform the jitsu at the same time and hope for the best." Shikamaru replied, shoving the last bit of his meal into his mouth.

Ino blinked.

"Great, then we can go try it out tomorrow! Then this will all be over and things will go back to normal!"

Shikamaru paused in getting up from the table.

Why hadn't he ever considered that?

Switching back meant that Ino wouldn't be there anymore, she'd go back home. They wouldn't be together anymore like this.

Now that the time was here, he really wanted her to stay. It had been fun, even if they had only been together a little more than a week.

He glanced across the table at Ino, who had his lips pulled back in a smile and was getting up to start cleaning up the leftovers. She looked _happy _that they would be back to normal.

'_Well, if she's happy, I should be too._' He thought.

"Hey, Shikamaru? You wanna just share the bed tonight? You're probably tired from that mission, and I don't fancy sleeping on the couch."

'_But it's okay for me to sleep on it…_' he thought, but agreed. "Sure."

They both slept soundly until morning, when they rose and started to head back towards their old training ground again.

After a few practice charka bending exercises, they took positions across from each other on the field, ready to attempt the transfer.

"You ready, Ino?"

She nodded but didn't start forming seals. "Shikamaru?"

"What?"

"Um…I just wanted to say….that even if this doesn't work….it's been fun staying with you this past week."

Shikamaru blinked then smiled slightly. "Yeah."

Ino took a deep breath. She raised Shikamaru's hands and began to form the seals, concentrating intently. Shikamaru formed the same seals simultaneously, but couldn't seem to concentrate.

'_Everything's going to go back to normal…_' he heard Ino say in his mind again.

'_No…I don't want…_'

They completed the seals….

'_Shit_!' Shikamaru closed his eyes and concentrated hard, ha didn't want his feelings to affect the transfer.

"Mind-Body Switch Technique!" They both yelled.

Both bodies slumped to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Hahaha! Cliffie! Betcha you guys are kinda pissed! Anyways, like I said, this might me the second-to-last-chapter...sorry! I'll try to get to work on the other chapter, but I have another fic to work on and a really good Idea for another one! YAY!

Please review! It makes me all fuzzy inside!


	6. Chapter 6

I would like to blame forces beyone my control for taking so long to post this chapter...somebody up there hated me, cause I couldn't upload for about 5 days...sorry minna!

Anyways, here is the next chapter! (I'm not sure how it will go over though...) Before you all start reading, I want to thank you for all your wonderful reviews! I never thought this story would be such a hit! Especially with such an obviously cliche concept...Still! All of your reviews are what kept this story from going into my spank-bank and never being seen again! Give yourselves a pat on the back, you deserve it!

I hope you all continue to review, since I have no idea what you guys are thinking...I could get another chapter in here, somewhere, but that only happens if I see your input! Thanks again, I love you all!

Disclaimer- I don't own this awesomely cool series...

* * *

Both bodies remained on the ground, unconscious after blasting each other with intense mental chakra. Minutes passed, until Ino was the first to open her eyes. She blinked; Once. Twice. Then shot up into a sitting position, glancing down at her body. Still no female curves. No soft porcelain skin, no purple skirt and top, no dainty hands. Only firm muscles covered in a netting shirt.

Tears began to well up in her eyes, but she fought them with all her might.

"Sh-Shikamaru?" She sniffled, looking across the field at her still-unconscious body. She crawled over just in time to see her blue eyes flutter open. They didn't look quite as surprised to see dark eyes staring back at them….

"It didn't work." Shikamaru said stoiticly, sitting up.

"No." She wpied her nose, wet from sniffling.

"Oh well. We'll just try again when our chakra is high enough again, maybe two days should do it." Shikamaru sat up, rubbing his head, which obviously hit the ground pretty hard after the impact.

"How can you be so calm! What if we're stuck like this _forever_? Aren't you angry that you'll have to spend another two days as a girl!" Ino yelled, tears beginning to stream down Shikamaru's face again, this time uncontrolled, washing the thin layer of dirt it had collected from lying on the ground.

"Hey! Wait a minute! Guy! Guy, remember? No crying in my body!" Shikamaru raised his hands to stop the tears, brushing them from his face.

Ino stood, drying the few remaining tears from her face, her expression unreadable, but Shikamaru could tell she was trying to mask intense anger. (It was HIS face after all.)

"Fine. Tomorrow…we're going to go see my dad again. I want to hear everything about this technique for myself. And I don't think you'll want to be in my body anymore starting then…you'll get to really see what it's like to be a woman." She turned and began stomping towards town again, not bothering to wait for Shikamaru to regain his balance and follow.

OXOXOXOXOXOX

The next morning, Shikamaru awoke to the greatest pain he'd ever felt. His stomach cramped and seemed to want to explode. He rolled over, only to find the Ino was already up, no longer occupying the space opposite him.

He held his stomach in pain, not wanting to get up, until he felt a warm, wet sensation from between his legs. Eyes wide, he reached down and brought up some of the strange liquid.

Blood.

"Yahhhh!"

Ino walked, nonchalantly, into the room, a small bag in hand, her expression one of slight amusement. "Good morning." She said cheerfully, sitting down at the foot of the bed, dropping a small bag between them. "Welcome to your crash-course in female menstruation. You should get out of the bed, before it gets on the sheets, blood stains are a bitch to get out."

Shikamaru winced, but stood, looking down and seeing his night shorts slightly wet with the blood.

"You've got to be kidding me….this is…"

"My period. I was hoping we could change back before I got it, but after yesterday…"

"What do I do? I can't go outside like this, bleeding everywhere…We can't go to your dad's today."

"Oh no you don't. We're still going. I packed some pads before I left the house, you can wear them, since I don't want you trying to put tampons in…." She handed him one of the small, plastic-wrapped items.Shikamaru was internally grateful, that was an experience he did **not** want to go through...

"But, this _pain_. How do you expect me to walk around?"

"You just have to deal with it, Shikamaru. I do every month. Missions don't wait. Remember that one with those bandits from rock?"

Shikamaru nodded. "You mean…you were…."

"The entire trip." She nodded.

Shikamaru sighed, remembering the intense battles of that perticular, not able to conceive fighting in his situation.

"Alright. What do I have to do?"

Nearly an hour later, Shikamaru and Ino headed out the door of the apartment, making their way across town at a slightly slower than usual pace.

"I have a whole new respect for women…" Shikamaru groaned, placing a hand on his stomach.

"Good." Ino snapped, secretly liking that Shikamaru was able to sample the pain women bore every month.

Eventually, they reached the Yamanaka household. Shikamaru stopped, only to be pushed from behind by Ino, pressuring him to go inside.

'_That's right, this is her house…duh.'_

"D-Daddy?" He called, trying to sound sweet.

"That you baby?" They heard Inoshi call from inside. He soon emerged from one of the back rooms, carrying a book. "I missed you, pumpkin-nose!" He enveloped her in a hug, Shikamaru winced, feeling his insides cramp again. _'I'm going to die…'_

After setting his daughter down, he turned to Shikamaru. "Nara's boy? I haven't seen you around here in a while…what are you doing with my little girl?" He glared at him.

"Nothing, ...sir." Ino studdered. "We're just going out training this afternoon, I'm tagging along with her until then."

'_Is this how he's always treated Shikamaru?' _She sweat dropped. '_No wonder he and Chouji never wanted to come over.'_

They all filed into the living room, sitting on the couches around the room.

"How was the mission, baby?" He asked, settling into the couch deeper, obviously trying to get comfortable.

"Fine…um…Daddy? You remember that technique I was talking to you about the other day? The mind-switch? I want to know more about it."

"Why? You can't perform that one, sweetie, it's not in use anymore."

"I know that, daddy, I just want to know why it took Grandfather so long to switch back with his friend. Why were they stuck for six whole months?" He looked at Ino, who nodded, saying he asked the right thing.

"Well, it took a while for them to figure out the actual WAY to switch back. But then, your grandfather's friend didn't perform the technique when they tried a few times, he didn't concentrate."

"Why not?"

"It was complicated. You see, he liked being your grandfather…we Yamanakas used to be a lot more influential...and wealthier back then. Not to mention that he had a bit of a crush on your grandmother, if you know what I mean. They both needed to WANT to be back in their own bodies for the technique to switch them back."

Ino looked at Shikamaru, glaring.

"Well, what happened? How did they switch back?"

"Your grandpa convinced him that it wasn't his life he was living, that he needed to go back and make his own life the way he wanted, not just take somebody else's."

"Oh.." Shikamaru pondered.

"Why the sudden interest in this technique, baby?" Inoshi asked, resting his head in his hands.

Shikamaru panicked.

"Um…uh…."

"We're supposed to research older techniques for a get-together we're having with Asuma-sensei. His new genin team is learning about them and he wanted to use these for examples. We're just helping out." Ino interrupted, standing to leave.

"We're supposed to meet him soon, we should go, _Ino_."

Shikamaru stood and followed his body out the door, leaving a puzzled Inoshi still sitting on the couch.

"I thought they said they were going training?" He asked himself, scratching his head, puzzled.

Shikamaru followed Ino through the crowded streets, not knowing what to say. She probably knew by now that it was him who wasn't concentrating yesterday, she was blonde, but not dumb... How was he supposed to explain that he didn't want to switch back because he liked being with her everyday? He didn't want them to go back to just seeing each other every few days for training. He wanted to keep seeing her whenever he got home…even if he had to be in a girls body to do it.

He could never tell her that though…

It wasn't until then that he noticed that they had passed the turnoff to go to their/his apartment and were now heading outside the town limits, into the training grounds.

"Oi! Ino!" He tried to call, but either she was too far ahead to hear, or she ignored him and kept on walking.

She didn't stop until they had reached the training grounds from yesterday and turned to face him, her eyes cold.

"Why don't you want to switch back, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru stood, eyes wide at Ino, trying to think of some excuse.

"I'm waiting, Shika-kun…" She sounded like she was about to explode….

'_Not yet…you can't tell her yet…just say something!'_  
"I…I just…I thought it was much easier being a girl…missions and stuff are less troublesome." He sputtered.

**Wrong.**

Ino's head sank, it looked like she was going to attack him, or cry…he couldn't decide which.

Instead, she just turned and walked to the other side of the field, only facing him once she was far enough to perform the transfer technique.

Yep, attack it was, all right.

"And so, you thought that you could just stay in my body and enjoy being a girl for as long as you'd like? Just let me handle you're Jounin missions and kick back, maybe take a spy mission every so often….let some pig crawl all over my body…is that what you thought?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"No! That's not it! I just…I liked…"

'_Shit! NO!' _He thought, curbing his answer.

"I mean….yeah….Until this whole menstruation-thing started…not fun." He winced again, slightly from the cramps, but mostly because he knew he was only making her more angry.

"Form the seals, Shikamaru. And concentrate this time, okay? That way you won't have to deal with the cramps and such anymore." She said, still not raising her head.

"But…our chakra level won't be back up to full yet, Ino."

"I don't care, I want my body back…_**now**_."

Shikamaru opened his mouth in protest, but thought against it and started forming the seals determinedly.

'_Things will just have to go back to the way they were…if even, after how bad I've made things' _he sighed, completing the final seal and extending his arms out.

Ino also had finished and nodded at him.

"Body-mind switch technique!" They said simultaneously.

Blue chakra passed between them, knocking both bodies to the ground.

_'Wahhh! Shika-kun! It hurts!' A little blonde wailed, holding her leg dramatically._

_The little spiky-haired boy next to her, fussed about, not really knowing what to do._

_'Ino! I'm sorry! I won't ever try it on you again!' The boy took her leg to look at it, examining the small scrape it had, bleeding slightly._

_Poor little Ino continued to cry and Shikamaru looked around, trying to find something to sooth the cut._

_He darted off, picking up a small weed with little white flowers on it and bringing it back, holding it out to the girl, who stopped crying to examine the plant._

_'It's a weed.' She said, annoyed._

_'No. It's a present. I'm sorry I tried to use the shadow jitsu on you…I guess I'm not ready yet.'_

_Ino wiped her eyes and took the weed, plucking the white flowers from it and tossing the prickly vine to the ground. 'That's why your daddy said to wait, you just didn't listen, and look what happened.' She snapped at him, crossing her legs under her, her hurt leg slightly forgotten._

_'If you hadn't tried to dodge it and let it catch you, you wouldn't have tripped and fell, Ino. Troublesome girl.'_

_'Fine then. Someday, when I try new stuff out on you, you can't complain or dodge them, I'll get really mad.' The girl stood, still holding the small bouquet of weedy flowers._

_'Fine.'_

Shikamaru's eyes opened, slowly at first, then snapping to attention, remembering the situation. He sat up, his body hurt slightly and his head was throbbing. Yet, when he looked down, he no longer saw Ino's purple outfit…they had been replaced by his own, signature clothes. His previously white, soft, feminine skin was now tanner and firmer. He touched his stomach, the pain was gone.

He was back.

Realization dawned on him and he looked to the other side of the grounds, scanning for Ino, but she was nowhere to be found.

**Gone….**

'_Of course, she's used to this…she probably got right up, no telling how long I've been here._' He stood, brushing off his dusty clothes and headed back home.

'_Not to mention the fact that I probably pissed her off…'_

His walk felt strange now, after days of walking like Ino. Even the feeling of his hands, shoved deep into his pockets felt foreign to him.

"Again…." He muttered, completing his last thought and fumbling for his keys.

He entered the apartment, noticing that Ino must've already been and gone, her belongings missing.

It felt…empty.

Shikamaru flopped onto the couch, shifting his weight, trying to get comfortable.

'_Even the air is different now…_' he thought, his head sinking to his hands. '_Ahh, stop it…she was only here for a few days, it's not that different…_' He tried to re-assure himself.

The phone rang, Shikamaru groaned and moved to answer it.

'_What the hell…my phone hasn't rang in almost three weeks.'_

"Moshi, Moshi?"

"Shikamaru? Or is this Ino?" He heard Chouji on the other line.

"It's me, man. Everything's back to normal now."

"I see. Well, that's good. Asuma wants to get together tomorrow, he didn't say what for. Back at the training grounds around 10:00. Can you make it?"

"If no last-minute missions come up."

"Good, he said he'd leave a message with Ino, I just needed to call you."

"Thanks."

"See you then."

"Yeah, bye."

"Bye."

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Ino, sweetie, is that you?"

"Yeah, mom, I'm home. Sakura got backthis morning." Ino closed the door behind her and headed up the stairs to her room, passing her dad on the ay up.

"You're old sensei called, he needs you to go to the training grounds tomorrow, wouldn't say why."

"Oh. I'll see if I can make it." She entered her room and closed the door behind her.

'_I'm home…why do I feel so sad?'_

She thought, flopping onto her bed, her bag landing on the floor besid eher, uncared for.

'_Back to normal...' _The two thought simultaneously, closing their eyes and drifting off into a energy-depleted sleep.

* * *

So? So? What did you think? If you want more, you better review! I might just get a chronic writers-block otherwise! (Not to mention, reviews are what make the world go 'round!)

Review! The next chapter will follow in time!


	7. Chapter 7

Well, minna, this looks like the last chapter. I'm so pleased that so many of you liked this story enoughto review. I was planning to write another story, but I'll need to change some things, since it ended up being too much like episode 192...should I be mad or honered that one of my stories is close to the story?

Anyways, this turned out to be so much more sucessful than I thought! I'm so happy! Thank you to all of you that reviewed. And a small note. I have been known to respond to requests for sequels. I'd have to think really hard, but I'm sure I could try. Or if anyone has any suggestions for a story, let me know, I accept requests!

Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto or Shikamaru or Ino. The mind-switch technique is mine though, i think. Since no-one else has thought of it to my knowledge.

Enjoy!

* * *

Shikamaru tossed and turned in his sleep, trying to ignore the cold he felt without another body next to him. He hadn't slept well for the entire night actually, he still felt unsettled.

He glanced at his clock…7:13 am…late enough to get up, he supposed.

He moped his way to the kitchen, sifting through the refrigerator for something to fill his stomach for breakfast. Some of the leftovers from Ino's stay were still in there, so he grabbed them and started eating the cold noodles and rice, they still tasted okay.

He flopped on the couch, slurping the noodles loudly, not caring that they were splashing onto his bare chest.

'_Chouji was going to stop by before going to the training grounds'_, he thought, so he finished up his meal and got dressed slowly, letting the time drag out.

He was putting on his first shoe on the couch when Chouji opened the door, accustomed to picking Shikamaru up and not bothering to knock anymore.

"You ready?" He munched, finishing up his own breakfast and standing in the doorway.

Shikamaru sighed and stood, following his friend out the door and locking it behind him.

Shikamaru and Chouji rarely talked during their walks, time spent was not wasted, even if no words were exchanged. Chouji was perfectly content with munching on snacks and Shikamaru liked to multi-task and watch the clouds as the navigated through the streets. It wasn't until halfway through the journey that Chouji decided to break the silence.

"Should we stop by and pick up Ino?" He asked as they approached the turnoff to the Yamanaka house.

Shikamaru's head drooped. "No, I doubt she really wants to see me right now…" He mumbled.

Chouji blinked. "Why? What did you do?"

Shikamaru sighed and told Chouji the story of how he had made Ino think that he liked being switched because the missions were easier. Chouji just nodded.

"Well…why didn't you want to switch then?" He finally asked.

Shikamaru was silent. "Uh….Well, it's because…"

" Because you love her, right?" Chouji smiled.

_**CRASH**_

Shikamaru landed on the floor, tripping over air.

"What! No way!"

Chouji grinned. "Yep, I knew it. You love her, that's why you didn't want to switch back, you liked having to be around her all the time, right?"

Shikamaru picked himself up, blushing profusely.

"Don't act so surprised, I've known for a while now. I'm an observer." Chouji slapped his friend on the back.

Shikamaru rubbed his shoulder. "Um, Chouji? Do you think you could keep quiet about this for a while? I mean, to Ino?"

"I haven't told her yet, have I?" Chouji smirked.

The pair neared their old training grounds, once more, an oh-too-familiar place to Shikamaru. They were obviously the last to arrive, because Ino, Asuma and his new genin squad were already warming up. Ino turned the other direction upon noticing their arrival. Shikamaru sighed.

"So, Asuma, what's this about, huh? What do you want us out here for? How troublesome, on my day off." Shikamaru mumbled, sitting on the ground nonchalantly.

Asuma flicked the cigarette he had been smoking and smirked. "These are my new pupils; Renji, Tomaru and Keiko. We're going to start our training soon and I thought it would be good for them to witness a few sparring matches between my most improved students. Kids, you all must've heard of the genius ninja who passed the Chuunin exam before all other genin in his class? This is Nara Shikamaru. Akimichi Chouji is an accomplished ninja, who uses his family's enlargement techniques. And Yamanaka Ino, a feisty little Kunoichi, and very successful on Solo missions."

Shikamaru grunted, Chouji beamed and Ino giggled.

"Now, it's hard to believe, I know, but these three were once genin like yourselves. And not very good genin, I might add. Shikamaru was the laziest kid in the village, Ino's skills lacked discipline and Chouji was just a glutton."

All three of their heads drooped upon hearing the description of their formal selves.

"It just goes to show you that _ANYONE _can become a successful ninja. Now, Ino, you and Chouji fight first, don't overdo it and-"

"Sensei? I really want to see the genius guy fight!" The boy pointed at Shikamaru, who sighed.

"Alright, Chouji, lets get this over with."

Shikamaru turned to Chouji, who was sitting on the ground beside the children, waiting with an overly large smile on his face. The shadow-user turned his head across the field to Ino, who stood alone, at a loss for words.

"Alright, I guess Ino and Shikamaru can go first." Asuma said, plopping down behind his students, a perfect place for him to point out things to them.

Shikamaru turned back to Ino, whose eyes were narrowed in a glare. She tightened her stance and charged at him, kunai already in hand.

Shikamaru's eyes widened, he barely drew his own kunai to block before she reached him. Her teeth clenched, Ino jumped back to strike again, taking out two more kunai in her other hand.

Shikamaru dodged hopelessly, feeling her attacks barely graze his skin.

"Oi! Ino! Knock it off! This is just a sparring match! Hey!" Shikamaru ducked as one of her kunai whizzed past his head.

"You insensitive jerk! Using my body to get out of your missions! How dare you!" She yelled, punching and kicking at the boy mercilessly. Shikamaru thanked whatever god there was up there that he was used to her rage and could dodge them.

"I'm sorry! I didn't…mean…what I…said before! I just…didn't want to tell you…the truth!" He said between dodges.

"I bet!" She continued to lash at him, aiming a kunai strike at his shoulder.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed slightly and he reached for her targeted area.

slice

Ino's eyes widened and Shikamaru winced.

Behind them, Asuma and Chouji got up and ushered the three genin back towards the village.

"Alright, training starts tomorrow Get lots of rest!" Asuma joked as her pushed the kids forward.

"Aww! Sensei! It was just getting good!" The kids complained.

Shikamaru's grip tightened around Ino's blade, cutting deeper into his hand. With a lightning-fast motion, he jerked the weapon out of her loosening grip and tossed it to the ground.

"You didn't dodge it…"

Ino snapped to reality and turned, feeling tears begin to well up in her eyes upon seeing the blood drip from his cut hand. She took off in a determined sprint, but jolted as she felt her body go stiff. She looked down to see a dark shadow connected to her own.

"Let me go, Shikamaru! I hate you!"

Her body turned, against it's will and she forced her eyes shut, refusing to look her captor in the eyes. She unwillingly took a few steps forward and halted, still refusing to open her eyes.

She could feel his body heat in front of her, his breath, steady on her face.

"I lied to you before." Shikamaru started. "I didn't like being in your body because of the missions. As a matter of fact, I find your missions even more troublesome than my own." He sighed.

"Beyond troublesome, actually, I hate knowing that you're subjected to that without my knowing."

Ino sniffled.

"I wasn't lying when I told you that I didn't want to switch back though. I liked being with you every moment of everyday, even if you were in my body. It was your spirit I liked. I enjoyed it so much…that when you left, I didn't feel the same anymore."

Ino felt her body soften, being released from the shadow bind, but before she had a chance to turn again, strong arms enveloped her and held her in place. Shikamaru wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his head on her shoulder, hugging her gently.

'_Shikamaru?' _She thought, surprised by his action.

"Apparently, I've been in love with you for a long time, Ino. I've just been too stupid to bother to realize it."

Ino's eyes snapped open. She pushed him away, putting an arms length between them. "Shikamaru…" She whispered, tears beginning to form once again.

He only smiled and turned his head, looking up to the clouds.

"I already know you don't feel the same way, it's alright. I just didn't want us to fight over this anymore. I just-"

"I love you too." She interrupted.

Shikamaru's eyes widened and he turned to look at her again.

She was smiling, tears still clinging to her closed eyelashes.

"Ino….but, you…"

"I think I always have. I wanted to switch back so I could tell you in my own body. It felt so weird being attracted to myself. I wanted you back in your body so I could go back to liking _you, _not me."

"but…"

She reached up to brush a lock of his hair from his eyes, smiling softly.

"Is that really so hard to believe? We've been friends for so long, it was only a matter of time, right?"

He smirked and chuckled. "Right."

This time, she hugged him, tugging his neck down to her level, holding him tightly. He gladly returned, wrapping his arms around her waist once again.

"You should move back in, my apartment is empty without you making a mess in it."

"Well, when you put it that way…" Ino giggled.

Back In Konoha, Chouji beamed, puzzling his former instrustor.

_**2 months later….**_

"I'm home." Shikamaru mumbled.

"Rough day?" Ino greeted him, sitting on the couch, reading a book.

"B ranked mission, I'm all sweaty and dirty. I think I'm going to go take a shower."

Shikamaru stomped past her and started the water, undressing quickly and inspecting his body, looking for any recent injuries.

"You have one on your left shoulder."

Shikamaru jumped at hearing his 'roommates' voice.

"What are you doing in here? I thought we decided showers were off limits." He blushed, attempting to cover himself.

"Well, it's not like I haven't seen any of…this before." Shikamaru winced as her cold hands ran over his stomach. Ino giggled.

"May I join you?"

"As long as your not on your period…I can't ever seem to be gentle enough anymore…after experiencing it for myself…" Shikamaru joked.

"You're safe." She cooed, kissing the dirty ninja sweetly and pushing past him into the shower.

'_Finally, I get to see this again._' Shikamaru mused, joining her in the water.

THE END!

* * *

Well, what did you think. It's way different from how I intended, but A lot of people wanted a mushy ending...with them getting together! I write to please!

Please review! And thank you for reading!


End file.
